


There's a demon living down the street

by Fancy_Dragonqueen



Series: Demons at an Orphanage [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Cffall19, ColdFlash Week 2019, M/M, Meet-Cute, Orphanage, Thief Barry Allen, at least he tries?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-26 18:17:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20746622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fancy_Dragonqueen/pseuds/Fancy_Dragonqueen
Summary: There were whispers on the streets that there was a demon running the orphanage in New Brighton.Barry had snorted the first time he had heard about it.A demon.Sure.





	There's a demon living down the street

**Author's Note:**

  * For [drunkraiinbow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/drunkraiinbow/gifts).

> Dear Readers.
> 
> I proudly present my first Coldflash-fic. It’s for day one “Different First Meeting AU”. Please kindly ignore that the STAR Labs particle accelerator was blown up in december and we still have ripe apple trees in this fic.
> 
> A great thank you for my awesome beta [SexyWitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SexyWitch/pseuds/SexyWitch) . Thank you so much!

  
  
  


There were whispers on the streets that there was a demon running the orphanage in New Brighton.

Barry had snorted the first time he had heard about it.

A demon.

Sure.

It wasn’t even as if he’d heard it out on the streets, that came later. The first time he came to know about it was in the police station, out of all the places where you could hear something insane like that.

Be it a demon or something else going on, they were pretty sure something was going on in that place.

No one had seen the owner of it before. Which was strange, at least Barry thought so. Someone needed to own the place and not just on paper.

Most youths there were children from the streets, children no one wanted. Not the normal children that just didn’t have luck, but all the ones that had been in Juvie or did something else shady. From prostitution to stealing, everything was there.

The moment they went there, they went off the police radar. As if none of them had ever done something wrong.

There were no drug sellers, no mob wars, no robberies or anything slightly dubious around it. Careful questions to some mobsters had revealed that people_ feared _the place. As long as they were criminals. No criminal would go near it. No one would go in there to take away one of the kids, former drug runner or not. Former prostitute or not.

To be honest, Barry thought it was a good thing and he didn’t care if people thought the devil was behind it. The children were safe and they weren’t doing anything wrong anymore. They were able to form a life that had perspective.

Why they talked about being a demon at work though, wasn’t explained by those really good results. Wouldn’t it rather be heavenly work?

At first, Barry had thought it was only a matter of speech, not interested anymore.

He searched for the real demons. The ones like the man in yellow that killed people, innocent people like his mother. Not would-be demons that were most possibly a rich person not wanting to be seen as a suitor. Barry shoved the thoughts about the orphanage far away, when he was called to a robbery. No signs of someone entering or leaving and all the goods were stolen. That was more of a demon's work than the orphanage could ever be.

*****

Barry had already forgotten about the place, too much work for the CCPD that he could care for something good. There had been lots of robberies, all of them without flaw, without a clue who did them and it drove Barry insane.

It was the perfect crime.

Something that shouldn’t be possible at all! And yet, here he was searching for something. Anything. To be honest, he just hoped that he could find something as Singh was sitting in his neck, not understanding at all that someone could pull a perfect heist. It shouldn’t be real.

Barry spends most of his free time in the lab, running over results and searching the places for more clues but it was all for nothing.

Whoever did the robberies, they were too good.

Maybe when he got back and searched for more fingerprints? He had done it two times before but three times where the charm wasn’t it?

“Barry Allen!”

Barry startled and almost threw away the file he was holding. With wide eyes, he stared at the police captain next to him.

“Barry. Stop it. There is nothing you can do and I won’t pay you for more hours. Your shift ended over five hours before. I don’t want to see you here anymore. I don’t want to see you tomorrow either. Now go.”

He opened his mouth to deny and ask for a bit more time but Singh’s glare was enough to make him falter.

“Yes, boss.” He murmured and grabbed his backpack. Maybe he could work from home?

“The files stay here.”

Or not.

Barry rolled his eyes and made his way to leave the police station when he heard a man whisper almost haunted. “I swear. He was a demon. I only wanted to sell some drugs man, but he wanted to kill me. I swear. That man was not human.”

“Course buddy. Let’s get you into your cell. Sober you up.”

Barry stopped when the man grabbed his arm, staring at him wide-eyed.

“Don’t go near it. The demon eats the children. He feeds on them to be all-powerful.”

The man reeked of alcohol and Barry scrunched his nose, meeting the apologetic gaze of the policemen taking care of the man. Officer Cane rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“I swear if I hear one more word of that damned Orphanage this week I’m going to yell.”

Again with that orphanage. Maybe he should go there and look around for a bit. It would certainly get his head off the unsolvable cases.

It wasn’t even that far away from the last robbed place! Maybe after looking there he could search for some more clues without Singh breathing into his neck. It wasn’t the normal paranormal investigation he was doing. Most of those were normal things that could easily be explained by physics, biology and normal logical thinking.

Hearing ghosts? It’s an old house, ma’am. The wood is working and the heating is really old, therefore it’s the pipes that are making those weird noises. One time he even found a nest of rats living in the wall.

The house was always cold? The windows couldn’t be closed and needed to be changed. The heating needed to be looked over. Nothing out of the normal.

Sadly, as interesting as most of the cases had been, he hadn’t found proof for real paranormal activities. At least he had been able to help other people if he couldn’t help his father and himself.

A demon running an orphanage was new.

Of course, Barry didn’t think of meeting the owner, he would talk to some of the kids, making sure they were okay. Maybe he could even find out why they stopped being criminals, not that he didn’t believe in the good in humans. It was just highly impossible that all of them wanted to be good and start a new life.

It didn’t take long for Barry to get to the orphanage and when he came to it, he was surprised.

It wasn’t the best neighbourhood but the house looked clean and well cared for.

There was green grass in front and on the left side of the building and it seemed to have a backyard with trees and a greenhouse if he was seeing right. Everything looked neat and well cared for, loved even. It almost looked too perfect. The appletree he could see even wearing some nice red apples, ripe and inviting.

Not very demonic so far. At least if you didn’t think about why it was so late in the year and the apples still looked wonderful instead of too ripe, but he couldn’t see it from this distance.

“Hey, Kiddo. If you wanna steal some apples I would be careful. There’s a demon protecting this house.”

Barry hadn’t heard someone coming out of the house, but there were two kids, more like teenagers leaning against the door, another one sitting on the stairs, grinning at him. He could feel the blush rising on his face. The girl on the stairs had rainbow-colored hair and she just took a bite from an apple, not breaking eye contact as if to make him confess. Which he shouldn’t. He didn’t want to steal something to eat.

“I didn’t want to steal something. In fact, I’m…” He stopped talking, not really sure what he wanted to tell them. Revealing to be a badge would make them instantly distrust him. That’s why he couldn’t work undercover, not that a forensic would ever do that. He couldn’t lie to save his life and he rushed into things without thinking first.

Barry frowned when none of the teenagers was helping him out, just waiting for him to put his feet in his mouth.

“There’s no such things as demons.” He told them and crossed his arms. It might sound childish but he wouldn’t buy into that dumb idea. They weren’t in Supernatural.

The girl raised an eyebrow and looked to the shorthaired teen standing right behind her. The other one left the door without looking back or saying goodbye. Rude.

“Is that so.” The girl drawled, standing up in a fluid motion and strolling down the stairs. Barry could easily picture her as older and more mature as she should be.

“I am pretty sure you wanted to break in.”

What was it with that girl and accusing him of breaking and entering when he had only looked into the garden. She came to stand in front of him, a tiny, but cute thing, looking at him with what should probably intimidating but was only adorable.

“Leave him be, Raii. He looks lost. You can come in, my name’s Jason. I’m one of the oldest here. If you need a place to stay you’re welcome to come in. There’s enough food and rooms for everyone.”

As if on cue his stomach started to growl and the girl in front of him grinned carefree, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the stairs.

“What? I only wanted to see if he starts running.” She pouted at the boy that was mostly the same age as her, at least that’s what Barry thought and grinned when he rolled his eyes at her. “I’m Raii but you’ve heard that already. Who are you? You don’t need to tell us your real name if you don’t want to. Most don’t do it first.”

It was as if a spell had been broken and Barry could easily smile back at her carefree grin. She looked healthy and happy, something most orphans didn’t. Most of those Barry had seen had a haunted look but none of these two looked sad or abused.

“I’m Barry.”

“Hello, Barry. I told Mick that we have a guest, food should be ready soon.” The third teen appeared the moment Barry was dragged into the house, looking him up and down.

“You can have fresh clothes and use the showers after the meal. First food, then the rest.”

He turned again, leaving Barry with Raii and Jason. Barry frowned. Did he reek? He looked down on his shirt, his jacket. Both weren’t the best anymore but he really liked them, worn and well used. His shirt had some dorky sentences. “Don’t read the rest of my shirt.” And underneath that “You little devil, I like you.”

Just the right thing to wear when people accused this house to have some demons inside. Great. But it was one of his favourites, that wasn’t fandom or science-related. And maybe he had worn it yesterday, as he hadn’t left the lab, sleeping on the couch to wait for the results to come in. Maybe that’s why he had been thrown out of work.

And most possible that’s why the kids suspected him as one of theirs, even if he was way too old for that.

“It doesn’t matter how old you are.” The girl interrupted him, waving the apple in front of his face. “You’re welcome as long as you don’t start trouble.” She looked at him softly, her other hand patting his arm. “It’s okay, he won’t be angry. People might think of him as a demon but he ain’t. Just looks like one.”

She winked at him and laughed when Jason stole her apple to take a bite himself.

“Only one looking like a devil is Mick. Especially when he gets to know that you’re eating something now. He gets cranky when you don’t eat his food.”

Last sentence was clear for Barry and he nodded, curious if this Mick would know something about the owner of the house. The teenager clearly did. Maybe he should stay the night here, as they were already offering it to him. He could investigate and maybe get to know something.

Not that he was keen on finding something possibly illegal. He wouldn’t want to shut the whole thing down, not when the kids looked that happy to be here. They deserved happiness. God knows he had been a happy one, getting to be able to stay with his best friend and what he had already seen as family. Not everyone had that much luck.

“You coming? Mick won’t eat you, I promise. He’s all bark no bite. As long as you are nice and follow the rules.”

“Rules?” Barry dared to ask, curious what rules that might be.

“No running away. No touchy feelings towards the demons. Do not get caught stealing. No fires inside the house. Do not enter the room on the left at the first story. Don’t bring home any bodies, call Mick he will get rid of them.”

Barry stopped walking and stared at Raii, who was way too happy to tell him about the rules.

“Wait…. What?” His voice was a bit thin, maybe a bit too high too, she must be kidding, mustn’t she?

“Just kidding, man. But seriously no running away, back to where you came from. You can stay here as long as you need to and you don’t need to steal anything. We don’t want any cops in here.”

Oh, if only she knew.

“I’m not planning on stealing anything. And what do you mean about bringing home any bodies?! Raii?”

The girl laughed, and she grabbed his arm to drag him through a doorway into a big room, with an even bigger table. There were children of all ages seated at the table, talking to each other and only sparing them curious glances. The boy from before was sitting there, clearly he had told them about Barry. That must have been the only reason why he wasn’t bombarded with questions.

“You can leave your backpack over here, no one will steal it, I promise. If so, tell Mick. He’s in charge today.”

Barry nodded but didn’t let go of his backpack, not wanting any of them to be curious and looking into it, finding some of his work stuff and outing him as a cop.

Raii didn’t seem to mind when she seated him beside her and he looked around, searching the kids for any signs of trouble. They all looked a bit curious but else still happy. Some of them had bruises, but they were already fading. All of them had clean clothes and looked as if they got enough sleep and food, which wasn’t something Barry had gotten in the last days.

The damn robberies were keeping him awake at night and he hadn’t eaten anything besides a day-old bagel in the morning after getting up. Lots and lots of coffee had kept him awake. He didn’t want to know how big the bags underneath his eyes were.

Just as he was about to ask if it really was okay a man came through the door. 

He was gruff looking, broad shoulders and a face screaming brute. There were burns to be seen, covering his arms where the shirt was showing skin. He had a huge pot of something delicious smelling in his hands, a little girl clinging to his leg. For a second Barry feared he would just kick her away but instead he carefully maneuvered the food onto the table, the girl clinging to his leg and squealing in delight. The gruff man, _ Mick _ as Raii whispered to him, looked down onto her, shaking his head and petting her hair.

“Food. Now.”

Brown eyes landed on Barry and he didn’t even try to resist the urge to cover behind his backpack, trying to make him as small as possible. That man screamed violence and Barry didn’t want to think about what he would do to Barry if he gets to know that he was working for the police. Not that he wanted to do something against them, he had only been curious about the demon, even if he could easily see that this man could be confused for one.

“You.”

“Me?” Barry asked, voice thin and eyes wide when the man grabbed over the table, reaching for him. Instinctively he closed his eyes, grabbing the backpack a bit higher, not noticing that the rest of the table had gone silent. Sure, Barry hadn’t been in an abusive home but he had survived his fair share of bullies and criminals trying to beat him up for well being himself and being a nerd.

Nothing happened.

Carefully he opened his eyes, taking in how the man had stopped in his tracks and was watching him almost angry, but immediately trying to soothe his face. He wasn’t about to grab Barry at his collar and drag him over the table, he was reaching for the dish to give him food. Barry could feel the heat rising in his face, wanting to open his mouth to apologize but no words left his lips.

“You allergic?”

Barry closed his mouth and shook his head. He wasn’t. Avoiding the faces of the other kids, he looked onto the table when a dish full of spaghetti with a rich, good smelling sauce, was shoved underneath his nose.

There was way too much and he was sure he wouldn’t be able to eat all of that but his stomach tend to be of another opinion as it growled angrily at the sight of food, wanting it inside. The children started to chatter again, ignoring his reaction and obviously giving him the space he needed. He felt bad for reacting like that. 

The kids here had it way worse than himself and not one of them was bothered by this Mick guy. Especially not as he seemed to be a nice one, not much of a talker but making delicious food and being kind to children clinging to his leg. There were no immediate signs that the children were abused, so he shouldn’t have shown that reaction. No one knew that he was a cop and he hadn’t heard anything bad from this orphanage.

Cursing his own reaction he started to eat, only to stop and look up to stare at the man.

A smug grin plastered on his face as he watched Barry’s reaction.

That not only smelled heavenly. It tasted like heaven too!

Barry was pretty sure the blush was covering his whole face when he started to really dig into the food, not caring at all that he was practically inhaling it, leaning back when he was finished. Since he left Joe’s home and was living on his own he hadn’t had something edible to eat if he didn’t eat at Joe’s or in a restaurant. He just couldn’t cook.

It didn’t help that he wasn’t eating a lot when he was working on some cases, sometimes he just forgot to eat. It felt good to be full and warm and with Raii smiling on his left and playfully nudging him into his side with her elbow he even managed to throw a shy smile at Mick. The man watched him carefully and nodded back, not talking to him but listening to the exciting tale the little girl was spinning.

Barry looked over the table, there were at least 20 teenagers and kids, maybe even more that weren’t eating at the moment but coming later. There were more dishes than actual persons right now so either they seemed to get a lot of guests or a few kids would eat later.

The remaining ones were smiling and talking, some even bickering. Everyone waited at the table for the last person to finish and soon they were getting up, taking the dishes into the kitchen.

Mick shushed them out of his domain, getting it into the dishwasher himself, before turning to Barry who was still standing and clutching onto his backpack. Raii at his side. 

“You going to stay the night?”

The man’s voice was as gruff as he was looking and Barry nodded carefully. Maybe it would really help to stay a night here and it didn’t seem to bother anyone?

He wasn’t quite sure what he was getting out of it. They weren’t doing something illegal and somehow it felt as if the children really were safe here. He wouldn’t want to find something and shut it down.

Then again someone had mentioned the demon and that couldn’t be this Mick, as they had talked about Mick looking like a devil. And then there had been talk about more demons, which didn’t make any sense.

No one seemed to be bothered though, so maybe they just wanted to intimidate newcomers?

“Good. I’ll show you your room.”

Mick rinsed off his hands, dried them and walked out of the kitchen, not waiting for Barry to follow him. Barry waited for a second and followed him faster, almost bumping into the man when he stopped to catch the little girl that jumped him again.

She looked close to three or four, way too young to not have a family. Not that it was better to lose them at a later age.

“Her name’s Kate,” Mick answered his unasked question. “Mother OD’d and left her behind, no father around. Found her and didn’t know where to go with her. That’s how this all was started.”

Obviously the man thought he might thaw up when someone talked to him. It actually was interesting. They could have easily brought the children to another orphanage and not found a new one.

“How come?”

Mick turned his head and threw him a pointed look before he took the stairs to the upper story.

“Some people shouldn’t get children. And some people shouldn’t be around them.”

“But I’m not a child anymore.”

Mick stopped and turned, Kate snuggling her face into his neck and yawning tiredly.

“You sure look like one that needs a place to belong. Better here than on the street.”

And didn’t that make him feel bad. For a second he wanted to blurt out who he was and what he really wanted to do here but he knew that he wouldn’t get out here without hurting someone. Somehow he couldn’t picture Mick hurting him but that was maybe because the man looked at him like a child and not a badge.

“Here’s your room for the night. Left room on the far end is off-limits. Everywhere else you can go, just knock. Most turn the key to feel safe. Can do that too, if you want.”

The man looked as if he wanted to say something else, mouth opened but he seemed to consider against it. 

“Good night.”

“Good night, Barry!” Raii chirped from behind and followed Mick to the next stairs. “I’m the first room left when you come up the stairs. Knock if you need something!”

With that, she, Kate, and Mick were gone. The little girl seemed to have fallen asleep on the gruff guy that didn’t seem that scary anymore.

He really needed to look him up. His fingers itched and he wanted to know more, wanted to know why he did something like that. Were they nursing new criminals here? Would they turn them into thieves and robbers, into mobsters? They were too nice to be real.

Something he really loved and wanted to believe as true. Something he didn’t want to stain and would feel bad if he came out as wrong. When there wasn’t something fishy going on he couldn’t let himself be seen here again without apologizing for even thinking like that.

Then again something good like this didn’t happen.

Most people might see him as a complete optimist but Barry knew that there was enough bad in the world. There was always a hook. Always something dirty underneath the shine. He just needed to find it and get to know this so-called demon.

Barry opened the door and took a step into the room. It wasn’t a big room but clearly something one could live in. There were the normal basics for a room, a bed, a chair, a desk, a dresser in the corner and a closet. No one had told him where the toilets were but a quick look into a second door in the room confirmed that it was in there. With a shower on the other side. Neat.

Meant everyone had their own place and didn’t need to go into showers with other people.

Not that he minded. He liked the idea that the kids had private bathrooms to be safe.

He also liked the idea that he could close off the room with no one looking through his private things. He’d smuggled out some files to work on and his laptop with access to his working place. Technically, he wasn’t allowed to do that but he just couldn’t let the whole thing go. Singh would know and would scold him but he would also be happy if Barry managed to solve the case.

At least that’s what he told himself.

Barry was glad that the other kids and even Raii had left him in peace, for the time being. All of them obviously didn’t want him to feel crowded. A look in the mirror showed him that he looked like shit. There were dark bags underneath his eyes and he looked a bit haunted. He could clearly eat a bit more but he forgot to do so when he had too much stress with cases. 

Instead of setting up his working place to get a bit done, he shrugged off his jacket and shoes and laid down onto the bed. He only wanted to lay down for a minute or two, to rest his head and his aching back, then he would go back to work. It was just that his belly was warm and full and it somehow felt nice to be here. Welcoming in a way he wouldn’t have thought.

The sheets smelled fresh and nice and the bed was so soft. So. Soft.

The moment his head met the pillow he closed his eyes and was gone.

****

Barry woke up hours later, it was already dark outside and the light in his room wasn’t on. Of course not. It hadn’t been dark enough to switch on the light, then again he had thought he had put it on to see how much light it was giving off. Weird. Must have put it out again.

A quick grab for his phone to put on the light revealed that the room looked like what it had been left by him before he’d passed out.

Yawning, he got up, mourning a to leave the warm and soft place and stretched himself carefully. Hm. His back didn’t hurt anymore. This clearly was magic. Or just the right bed for him. Perhaps he needed to buy a new mattress, something softer this time. It obviously worked wonders for his back.

The orphanage was quiet. It was already 3 am, so it wasn’t a wonder for it to be quiet. Barry grinned a bit when he looked at the clock. 3 am was the devil’s hour. Sweet. It would only fit to search the house for clues now that everyone was asleep. He needed to be quiet about it but he was new and he could still tell them he wanted to use the restroom and got lost. No one would blink a second time when he acted surprised that there were restrooms in every room.

A second he thought about wearing shoes but then he thought against it. He would be quieter with socks and from what he’d seen so far the house was rather tidy so he wouldn’t walk into something dangerous like glass shards.

Taking out his personal lock picking set from his bag, he opened the door to the hallway. Call him a nerd, but he really wanted to be faster than Iris. Somehow they had started to make a contest out of it, who could unlock a door faster. Much to Joe’s horror as he really shouldn’t encourage such behaviour.

Barry had never used it on a real door outside the house. Because that would be a felony. Especially working for the police and clearly not officially working undercover. 

Singh would kill him.

Sneaking out into the dark corridor was easy, walking to the far end to the forbidden door was easy too. The moon was shining slightly and there was nothing in the way that he could stumble into. Easy peasy. Barry felt a shiver running down his spine, excitement in his belly. He could get behind why people were breaking into houses or stole things. He really could. Not that he would steal something. He only wanted to check everything was fine and then he could go back to the case of the missing money and mysterious robberies and leave the orphanage behind.

Maybe come visiting sometime to make sure everything was okay. They really had been nice to him. Mick hadn’t even asked for his name, but Barry was sure one of the kids had told him.

Right in front of him was the door.

Carefully he leaned down and tried to look through the lock.

Everything was dark.

Perfect.

With great caution and oh so slow he took out the tools, careful which one to use as he didn’t want to damage the lock. It took longer than he thought. Way longer.

It wasn’t a door lock like he had them at home. Barry didn’t even think it was a difficult one. He just couldn’t open it at all. Finally he kneeled in front of it, frustrated as nothing would _ click _. A fast in and out, piece of cake. To open it within seconds. Not to sit there for… he checked his phone. Eleven minutes straight without even being able to hear something unlocking. 

Gladly no one was seeing him right now.

With a huff, he got up from the floor when his leg gave out underneath him. Must have fallen asleep was his last thought before he fell forward, grabbing the handle of the door to stop his fall. Only for it to go down, for the door to open and him stumbling right into the room, hand on the handle and almost falling onto his butt.

He might or might not have squeaked in the process, the other hand pressing onto his mouth to not wake someone up. Gladly his body weight stopped the door from crashing into the wall.

Barry stilled and waited for doors to unlock or something to happen but no one seemed to have noticed. Maybe everyone was asleep? With a quiet whine, he let go of the handle and tried to get up, his left leg finally waking up, half hurting with little needles everywhere.

“Damn that was embarrassing.” he murmured to himself, slowly turning on the one leg that wasn’t asleep, screaming when he was grabbed and pressed into the wall. A hand covered his mouth to stop the scream and Barry was too stunned to fight back.

“It sure was.”

The voice was smooth. Dark and smooth and went down his back like liquid fire.

Damn.

What a nice voice.

Not a voice he wanted to die to but a damn nice voice.

The fingers on his mouth were rough and slightly calloused, but they smelled oddly nice, reminded him of the laundry detergent they used for the bedsheets. He couldn’t make out the face as it was too dark but the light of the moon showed a few shadows and damn. Damn.

The fingers left his mouth and Barry almost whined. It shouldn’t be that hot to be pressed against a wall by a guy he didn’t know, with fingers that felt way too cold and good on his heated lips and a gaze that could burn steel. Barry was glad the mysterious man couldn’t see his blush in the dark or maybe he could.

There was hope that he couldn’t.

"Barry Allen, 23. What's a badge doing in my house."

Barry was short of screaming again but a finger pressed to his lips stopped him from doing so. There wouldn’t be any help in screaming either, not when the man told the rest that he had tried to break into the only room he knew he shouldn’t get in.

And why did the guy knew who he was?

Barry shut his eyes and tried to make himself small, waiting for the pain to come. 

The seconds ticked by.

Nothing happened.

Carefully he opened his eyes again. The cold finger was still on his lips, but the face was so much closer than before. Their noses were almost brushing. If not for the finger and the grip on his collar he would have thought the man would kiss him and wasn’t that telling a lot about how he really needed to get laid?

Also.

“Your house?”

Thank the gods for only latching onto that one information. Barry groaned inwardly and kicked his own ass for being so dumb. There were a million things he could have said instead he asked the stupid questions.

Dark, smooth and handsome snorted in his face and Barry could feel the smell of freshly minted breath on his face. It shouldn’t make him shiver, neither should it make the man back away a bit.

“Cute. Useless, but cute.”

“Hey…”

He didn’t want to be offended. “I’m not.” Carefully he tried to stand on both legs, trying to ignore the little needles that really weren’t a priority right now. “Useless that is.”

Barry could almost feel the smirk in the dark.

“Technically I’m not a badge. I’m a forensic scientist a..and I’m really sorry for breaking in. I swear I didn’t want to steal anything.”

“Obviously. You’re a lousy thief.” The words were drawled and even if Barry knew that he was insulted he was happy about it. There was a snark in those sentences but no real anger. But maybe he just hoped for that, as the man hadn’t hurt him yet. Then again all the big bosses were kinda charming, weren’t they? Not that he had seen a lot outside of the television. He mostly saw what they were able to do.

Therefore he shouldn’t be excited at all.

“I just.” He huffed. “Look. There was talk about some demon living here. I know. It’s funny but criminals fear to come here and I wanted to check if everything is alright. I didn’t plan this. Any of this. I swear.”

The man was silent and didn’t move. He still pressed Barry into the wall with one hand but didn’t do anything else.

It made him squirm. The silence. The way the man was staring at him and made Barry feel as if he could see everything while Barry wasn’t able to see anything.

The man huffed and it sounded way too amused.

“And what did you find, Barry Allen, not a badge, forensic scientist.”

Barry almost wanted to shove the man. He sounded way too amused with what Barry tried to sell him. It wasn’t fair that the man talked to him like that. It wasn’t fair that he couldn’t see him and it wasn’t fair that he smelled like fresh mint and sandalwood and that it felt good to feel the strength of his fingers on his chest. Especially as they pressed a bit harder. A warning.

“They are happy.” He managed to blurt out, taken the man by surprise as the pressure lessened to an almost light touch.

“They are happy.” He answered a bit quieter. “The children. They don’t seem to be hurt and they like it here. Mick seems to be nice. It’s- Everything is too good. There is nothing in the records, children with a long history in crime suddenly not committing felony anymore? That’s impossible.” Barry stopped talking. He shouldn’t talk to the man like that. Shouldn’t tell him that he thought of the whole thing as fishy. Automatically he started to gnaw on his lower lip, sucking it in. He really should learn to shut his mouth. It would bring him into an early grave, that was for sure.

The finger returned to his lips, this time pressing down. Startling him enough to stop biting on it.

“It’s not. Haven’t you heard? There’s a demon running this orphanage.” Barry could hear the smirk in the man’s voice. His tongue flicked out of his mouth nervously, touching the digit that laid on his lips without even wanting it. It tasted a bit like salt and a little bit like the sauce Mick had prepared for them. The sharp intake of breath made his knees go weak.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Barry Allen. Go back to bed. No harm will happen to you this night.”

Then the man was gone.

Like, literally gone. One moment he was right in Barry’s face and the next he and his warmth were gone. Leaving Barry leaning against the wall, shivering slightly with wobbly knees.

Without even thinking twice he ran back into his room, closing the door and leaning against it after turning the key.

What the heck.

His heart was beating fast, not knowing how to calm it down. It wasn’t as if he feared for his life. It was just that he was excited. Dangerously so.

He hadn’t even seen the man but he didn’t believe that he was a demon. They didn’t exist and they surely didn’t taste like dinner and smelled like sandalwood. But if they did, he could easily picture them with a voice, smooth and dark like that.

He was so screwed.

And he hadn’t even found any evidence that something was wrong. Not that he really wanted. If this orphanage did good then he shouldn’t look further into it. Or maybe he should. Look more into it. More into the man in the room.

But for today he should really lay down and sleep. Not that any sane person would lay down and sleep after that. Just that he somehow really believed the man that no harm would come for him. The man has had the time and the opportunity to hurt him, but he hadn’t. 

Also the bed was really, really soft and nice.

It would be sad to not sleep in it. Just a little bit more.

With a soft sigh, he got rid of his pants and his shirt, leaving him in only his boxer shorts and his socks and flopped down onto the bed. Just to be sure he left the light on, knowing that he would wake up if someone would come into the room. Everything was fine. And maybe Mick wouldn’t kill him either.

With a soft sigh and touching his lips for the phantom feeling of rough fingers he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Just like that. He didn’t even think of covering his body with the blanket, it was warm enough for now.

This time he dreamed.

There were hands on his body, not seductive sadly, just turning him around, then cold fingers on his ankles. Lingering a touch too long. Barry purred quietly and opened his eyes. It was dark and warm and fuzzy and the blanket suddenly was over his body, covering him, chasing the cold away. In the shine of a car passing by he could make out a person leaning over him, watching him.

Piercing blue eyes staring into his own, making him wonder why he dreamed of something that stunning. It must be a dream, no real person could have eyes so beautiful. With a dopey smile, he reached out to the person only to find his arms trapped underneath the sheets. A frustrated whine escaped his lips and suddenly there were fingers in his hair, stroking his head and he closed his eyes again, leaning into the touch. The dream faded away into nothing but warmth and cold, a strange combination but when did dreams ever make sense?

A sharp and fast knock on his door made him open his eyes again.

“BREAKFAST IS READY!”

Someone screamed outside of the door and Barry needed a moment to blink the sleep away. Huh. What was happening? The sheet on his body slipped when he got up and when did he slip underneath the blanket?

Confused he looked around, freezing when he saw what was lying next to the bed on the nightstand. It was his lock pick set. Tidily put back together again. His clothes that he had left on the floor had been folded and put on the chair, his socks laying on top of them.

“Oh my god.” He whispered and whined, falling back into the sheets only to be reminded that he had seen the man, that night. He remembered the soft touch and the fingers dancing on his ankles. Good god. He should have showered, what if they reeked? Barry almost fell out of the bed, his feet tangling with the blanket when he hastened to get up and well. The smell on his socks. Ew. Not that they smelled bad but ew. What had he been thinking?

And why did he care about what the man was thinking of him? He should be scandalized that the man had broken into his room and even had the nerve to get rid of his socks.

Not that the socks were the problem. The problem was that he did wake up but instead of defending himself he had cuddled into the soft touch. Seriously, worst self-preservative drive ever.

It didn’t help that he had fallen asleep again, content and feeling safe. It didn’t help that there was a soft smile on his lips and it wouldn’t help him at all to leave the house and never come back.

_He was so screwed._

Barry could hear people running outside, laughter and voices and decided to join them on the breakfast table. He sure could eat. Hopefully he was allowed to do so. A short look at his phone showed him that he had slept until nine, which was nice. The battery at two percent wasn’t but he could only change that at home. To be honest he felt more awake and rested than ever before and it was a shame that he needed to leave. Which he really should, especially as the mysterious man knew that he was working with the police.

Barry groaned.

He would never be welcomed at the breakfast table.

Another knock on his door.

“Your cocoa will get cold.”

It was Mick’s voice, making him jump.

Cocoa?

Did that mean…

“You better not let it go to waste.”

The voice was gruff, clearly not pleased but the words were welcoming. Slowly he opened the door, ready to shut it the moment Mick was doing something. The man only rolled his eyes.

“Come now, I will not let you leave before breakfast.”

With that, the man turned and went down the stairs. Coming to the dining room he could see that no one was there, well the rest of the children were running around the house, the doors were open and some were to be seen in the garden. No one was giving him a second look, just a quick smile and nod.

Clutching onto his backpack Barry opened the door to the kitchen, where a little table was set with bread rolls and marmalade, bacon and other delicious smelling things. Two dishes were set on the table, each had a mug with steaming hot cocoa, covered in lots of cream and tiny, little marshmallows.

Mick was watching him from the stove and came to the table, sitting down on one of the chairs, leaving the other free for Barry. Without a word he started to eat the food, taking a sip from the mug.

Barry sighed quietly and leaned his backpack against the kitchen counter, sat down opposite of Mick and grabbed the mug, slowly taking a sip himself. His eyes widened in surprise and he moaned, before he took a bigger gulp, this time almost burning his throat.

Mick snorted.

“Easy. There’s enough.”

He was still grunting but somehow the tension in Barry’s shoulders lessened. Obviously Mick knew who he was but he wasn’t acting violent against Barry. Instead he looked at him like Barry was a mystery to be solved. It was kinda unnerving.

“You know. He only makes the hot cocoa for the people he likes. Must have really impressed him.”

Barry choked on his bread roll, hitting his chest with his fist when he didn’t get air. 

“What?” He managed to cough out and looked at Mick with watery eyes, but the man only smirked and went back to eat, seemingly not in the mood to talk more than that with Barry.

Barry couldn’t stand the silence. He knew that Mick knew who he was. He also knew that Mick most likely had talked to the man he refused to see as a demon.

“Okay. Listen. I’m sorry. I’m pretty sure he has told you.” He couldn’t look into Mick’s eyes, fidgeting on the dinner plate. Shoving the scrambled eggs from one side to the other. “I didn’t want to lie. Well technically I didn’t but you know what I mean. It’s just… they kicked me out of work because apparently I work too much and my brain sometimes can’t stop thinking when I can’t solve a case and then I heard about a demon living here and things being fishy and I wanted to investigate. I didn’t think about sleeping here or getting food and I really, really love the food and the bed. God. I haven’t slept that good in ages. And you were so grumpy at first but so good with Kate and the kids seem to love you and I’m sorry that I thought you would hit me. But most of the times people don’t like me and usually when that happens I get kicked in the ass but you aren’t like that and I’m so grateful.”

Barry stopped talking, staring at Mick with wide eyes. Oh god. He really should stop talking.

“Look. I didn’t mean that you aren’t scary or so. I’m pretty sure most people think you are scary but to me you’re like a big grumpy teddy bear and I would really, really like to hug you and eat more of that delicious food and oh my god.”

Pretty sure Mick would kill him now.

The man raised his eyebrows, reached over the table to grab a piece of bread roll that Barry somehow had destroyed and shoved it right into Barry’s mouth that he had opened to apologize.

“Eat. No more talking.”

It sounded something between amused, fond and terribly gruff but Barry could see the slight blush on his face. 

They finished breakfast silently after that. Barry managed to sneak a few looks at Mick but the man just continued to eat and only got up to refill both of their mugs with perfectly done cocoa, lots of cream and even more marshmallows. 

It took a bit courage to finally talk again. “Thank you for having me here,” Barry whispered quietly, only getting a grunt from Mick who turned around and started to tidy up the kitchen. Gnawing on his lower lip he only thought about it for a second before he jumped to the older man and hugged him from behind.

“Thank you.. For everything.”

Faster than light - he was sure of that- he turned and grabbed his backpack, running out of the orphanage, a smile on his face when he waved the children goodbye. Sadly Raii was nowhere to be seen but he would make sure to visit her in the next few days.

With a smile, he walked towards the bus station, keen on grabbing a bus home, unknowing of the piercing blue eyes following him from one of the windows of the orphanage.

He needed to make sure to solve the mystery of the robberies. Then he could look after the demon, or whomever that mysterious man had been. But first, he would make himself get ready for the big event this evening. He’d almost forgotten about the STAR Labs particle accelerator. Thank god his phone had a reminder function. 

This event would change the world.

Barry was sure of that.

  


The end <3


End file.
